When it comes to fostering inclusion in athletics, Blind Fitness doesn’t just talk the talk — they’ve got it down to a science.
This Sunday, November 9, the nonprofit will field 18 blind and low-vision athletes alongside roughly 40 total team members for the Santa Barbara Half-Marathon and 5K, in what marks their third year collaborating with Wayfinder Family Services and United in Stride. It’s a carefully orchestrated process of ability and alliance that enables low-vision and blind athletes to participate in physical activities.
“We’re excited to see the community come together again to celebrate the power of connection through movement,” said Tania Isaac-Dutton, Blind Fitness’s executive director. “Events like this remind us that inclusion isn’t just about access — it’s about belonging, visibility, and joy.”
The magic, though, happens in the matchmaking. Lead registration coordinator Brian Walters — a certified, experienced runner who’s logged many hours working with blind and low-vision individuals — orchestrates the pairings. Pace comes first. Then experience level. The goal? Rhythm — a balance where neither party feels like they’re carrying the entire weight of the partnership.
“We try to pair the either new guides or less-experienced guides with those participants who also made the running or walking the event for the first time, so that there’s a sense of being equally matched,” Isaac-Dutton explained.
Guides are volunteers and trained by Daniel Broz, who is low vision and teaches newcomers on everything from etiquette to the physical choreography of guiding. The model emerged from founder Brianna Pettit’s COVID-era epiphany: She’s a triathlete who could surf, run, walk, and bike with participants, but realized the bottleneck wasn’t desire — it was guide capacity.
“In a perfect world, there would be more guides,” Isaac-Dutton said. “That is one of the main reasons why Blind Fitness exists — we want the community to come out and join us so that we can expand the capacity of guides to better support blind and low-vision individuals.”
Most participants will tackle the 5K, though a handful will brave the half. The team’s a hair smaller than last year, but what it lacks in sheer numbers it makes up for in preparation and spirit.
For Isaac-Dutton, the payoff arrives post-race. “I think for me, it’s when everybody returns from their event, whether it’s the half or the 5K, and you see that look of sweat and satisfaction, that they did it, that they completed it. That’s my favorite part,” she said. “There’s a particular shift in the entire atmosphere within our group that is really special. It’s almost palpable. Getting to witness those expressions on our participants’ faces. That’s one of those, like the dream coming into fruition.”
Registration and more information available here.
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